Who Is Better Than Whom? Two Tales From Melting Pot Boils Over

Abstract

Two tales about confrontations between Whites from different ethnic back-grounds that took place in Virginia during the twilight of the Jim Crow era are told here. In both tales, Pete Aegean, whose parents are Greek immigrants and who works as a counterman in a Greek-immigrant-owned café, gets into conflicts with the patrons who are White native Southerners. The conflicts turn violent after they trade ethnic slurs. Although Pete emerges as the victor, it creates a serious dilemma for him. On one hand, he maintains his pride and gains the begrudging respect of the White mill hands who patronize the café. On the other hand, Pop, the café's owner, fires Pete for placing his false sense of ethnic pride above their mutual economic interests. Pete's firing raises the question of what is the right and wrong way for immigrants and their offspring to win the respect and admiration of their host country's native inhabitants.